Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (12.13.23)
Opening statement:
“Okay. Another great challenge at our place in front of our fans, which I think as you know, is a big deal to us. So, we’re excited about that opportunity. NFC opponent with the Chicago Bears. Good football team, 3-1 in their last four, 11 takeaways in their last three. You just turn on the tape. This is a good football team. I think it’s starting with their offense. Justin Fields is a challenge. He is so big and so strong, can make every throw and D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet, you name it. Good players really all over that offense and it’s a huge challenge. Defensively, I think Coach (Matt) Eberflus does a great job having gone against him before. We have a lot of coaches that know Coach Flus well. He’s really good, puts his guys in positions to make plays and they have playmakers. I think you really go to all three levels of the defense and I think they have playmakers. Good players. So, huge challenge. Special teams, they do a great job. A couple of different returners that we have to prepare for. So going to be a huge challenge for us down there. But our focus is on this work week, getting our work in today, making sure that we know what we’re doing so we can go play fast on Sunday. With that, I’ll take any questions.”
Can you touch on a little bit with Justin Fields. The way he can run the ball and pass. I guess as a dual-threat quarterback, what challenge does that present for your defense?
“Yeah, defensive coordinators don’t like those quarterbacks that can run and pass. It’s a challenge. I mean, every play he can affect. Their run game can go through him. Their pass game, he can make every throw and if it’s not there, he can pull it down and he’s a threat to make a lot of yards. So, huge, huge challenge. We’ve gone against players like this before. It doesn’t make it any easier. It’s a challenge.”
Can you address you guys have had since we saw you last a number of injuries. The latest we just heard about was Ogbo (Okoronkwo) possibly missing the season. Grant (Delpit) out. Maurice (Hurst). Can you address that?
“Yeah, I don’t have final confirmation on Ogbo just yet. Obviously might be heading that way, but I’ll hold out hope. Mo had surgery. Grant had surgery. I feel badly for those guys. They’re a big part of who we are. They certainly have been a big part of our success to date, but next man up.”
Delpit had a surgery. Could he come back at some point if he made a full recovery?
“Potentially.”
You guys say next man up, next man up. When does law of diminishing returns though, start creeping in?
“I’m not familiar with that law, not a lawyer. Yeah, I understand what you’re saying, Chris (Easterling). I mean, for us, we play with who’s available. We have a lot of good players. We have a lot of good backups that we call on and we trust them. Just how we operate.”
On the injuries mounting up.
“Yeah, maybe. I don’t know. Honestly, and I understand the question. We don’t get hung up on it, we don’t. We just focus on the job that we have in front of us, and it’s finding a way to get a victory versus a Chicago Bears team that’s 3-1 in their last four.”
Is it starting to resemble the COVID year to you in that regard?
“No. Hopefully, that was a one-of-one year. Listen, every single season has its own challenges. We’re no different than a lot of teams. You’re dealing with injuries. It’s the NFL, it’s December. It’s what it is.”
What did you see out of the two young safeties that finished the game for you against the Jaguars?
“Those guys have played for us and have gotten good reps. With D’Anthony (Bell), with Ronnie (Hickman), they’ve been out there. Guys that we trust, athletic, smart. So, we trust that a week of practice with them, if they’re the guys and they’re called upon, they’ll be ready to go.”
Kevin, you’re usually pretty stoic on the sidelines. You got very excited after the fourth and three. It looked like. What was it about that play and kind of that game that brought that emotion out of you in that particular moment?
“Yeah, I mean, that play in particular was a big moment for our football team in that game. And to see the play that the quarterback made drifting away from pressure and then to see D (David) Bell obviously go in untouched. I mean, I feed off the emotion of our players, so that’s an emotional play for our football team, and I think our coaches feed into that as well.”
With Mo (Maurice Hurst) being done, first of all, how did you think Mo played for you guys?
“Yeah, Mo gave us some great reps. And as good as the reps were on the field, he’s a great person who’s awesome for our locker room. We’ll get him back in here ASAP so he can be around our football team, but really good veteran presence. I know he’s not the oldest player, but he’s been through a lot. He’s been on different teams. So, I just think great impact on our football team.”
Is there an opportunity for Siaki (Ika), then to see the field for the first time?
“Potentially, yes.”
We talked to you after Jed (Wills) was hurt, you kind of expressed optimism that he might be back?
“Yeah, you got to always go with what the injuries are and sometimes there’s complications to it or whatever. Maybe, I don’t know if there are complications. But with more time, figured that surgery was the best option for him.”
Does it make it rewarding for you that you have a team that has proven to be so resilient? We’re talking about all the injuries and in ways that they might derail other teams, they haven’t derailed you all.
“No. I mean, we’re not in a place in the season to even think about that. We got to find a way to get a win this week.”
Does it shape the resilience?
“Yeah, of course. You know we talked about it, Jake (Trotter). You trust the leaders of the football team is really what it comes down to.”
Kevin, you’re one of nine teams that have eight or more wins. The other eight have all used one quarterback. Can you comment on that?
“No comment.”
Hey, Kevin, Myles (Garrett) was very critical of the officiating on Sunday. Do you think it was it a day where it was abnormal that he was held and grabbed and whatever else?
“You know, Myles gets a ton of attention. Breaking news into SportsCenter. The coordinators when they’re getting ready to game plan for him, the game plan is built around stopping him. So he gets a ton of attention via tight end chips, running back chips, slides to him and he’s a difficult guy to block. So, there’s always going to be plays that the offensive line is holding on for dear life, sometimes literally. So he fights through it. I know he was frustrated, but he’s just going to got to keep and he will keep playing and not let that get in the way of him playing really good football.”
I know you appreciate his frustration. Do you worry that comments like that, though, could backfire on him and then it turns into even…?
“No, I think – he has respect for this game. He understands that, he’s frustrated. It’s something I talk to the officials about every week leading up to the game is keeping an eye on the guys that are blocking him. So it really comes with being a great player. We want the other teams to play within the rules, obviously, but it hasn’t slowed him down. I mean, he continues to play at a very high level.”
Does it frustrate you, those coaches, the diplomatic channels of sending in the plays to the league office aren’t helping in that regard?
“Yeah, I’ve been around too long. I know the song and dance. So, it is what it is.”
You used DTR (Dorian Thompson-Robinson) twice. Was he effective?
“Yeah, I mean, on those two plays. You know, for us, Tony (Grossi), it’s a game-to-game proposition about what you think is best for the team in that game. Last week was a couple of plays, could be zero, could be 30. For him and for any of our players. That’s how we operate. We just want to make sure that whatever it takes for that given game, we’re going to put in the game plan.”
Ethan (Pocic), any worry that stinger might prevent him from playing on Sunday?
“We’ll see. Yeah, I mean, any injury you want to make sure you see how he’s doing throughout the week. I think he’s doing better, but I think we’ll know more later in the week.”
How do the efforts of the guys that have gone out throughout the season, how do those efforts play into that next man up mentality that the guys that are replacing them have?
“Yeah, I think, Cam (Justice), it goes back to we’ve spent a lot of time together, this football team, and you go all the way back to the spring and you put in the work and I think ultimately you trust all of your players because they’re putting in the work beside the starter. So, it’s not like the starters are the only players that are practicing in a given week again and going all the way back to training camp, if you will. I’ve seen all of our guys. I’ve seen them in action. I know what they’re capable of. I know how hard they work, and that’s where the confidence comes from.”
Myles was saying, Joe (Flacco), your long lost brother, was a real calming influence on the sideline in the final couple of minutes. How important is it to have just another guy over there that’s been through it and can kind of calm things down a bit?
“Yeah, I think, again, it speaks to Joe, his expertise in this game. He’s played a long time, he’s seen a lot and he’s definitely willing to share what he’s seen with his teammates. I think he does a great job in our meeting room with the quarterbacks. I think Dorian and P.J. (Walker) can learn a lot from the different things that he’s seen. But anytime you’ve had turns at this, anytime you’ve played in these games, you’ve played in big games, I think that informs you and how you deal with the things that are coming at you. And they’re coming at you fast now as well.”
It’s not easy walking in a locker room in the middle of a season like Joe has done. What’s it say about him that it just seems like, I mean, I realize his resume is what his resume is, but a guy that was out on the street waiting for a phone call is able to walk in and not only just really earn the respect of everyone in the locker room right away, but perform at a high level?
“Yeah, I think it’s to your point, Daryl (Ruiter). Obviously performing at a high level earns respect, but I just think the way you work earns respect. I’ve been around a lot of players, quarterbacks, running backs, whatever it is, the guys that work gain the respect of their teammates, and I think Joe just fits that mold.”
Even though DTR is your top backup, would he simulate Justin Fields this week?
“We’ll see. He could.”
Do you have a game ball for him?
“Yeah. Let’s see if he can get another one.”
Four extra tackles. Alex Leatherwood really hasn’t been out there able to do much lately. Right?
“He was battling an injury previously in the last couple of weeks. He’s coming along. He’s getting better.”
What has Geron (Christian) shown you in the five starts for him?
“It’s hard, you forget that he wasn’t with us before. So, I’d say number one is just understanding our system and I think that goes back to his time with Coach (Bill) Callahan. So he’s got a really good feel for what we do from a technique perspective and then diving in and making sure he knows what to do, play to play. I think he’s had a lot of really good moments for us. There’s a nuance to what we do and he’s done it really well. But another guy, Scott (Petrak), that I would put in the category he’s come in doesn’t say much, does his job. And I think the guys respect is important.”
Offensive line is that place where cohesion is so important. Yet you guys have rotated, I think five different starting combinations. What is it about Bill and Scott (Peters) and the way they teach that you guys are able to sort of rotate through guys, yet it doesn’t seem like miss much upfront?
“Yeah, well, I think Coach Callahan, Coach Peters do a great job. Coach Callahan has a wealth of experience. I forget what the number of years he’s been coaching. He told me back at training camp what number training camp it was for him, but I think you apply all those lessons learned. I don’t know if he’s had that many starting lineups before, but I’m sure he’s had to juggle things over the course of time. So, he just does a really nice job of getting all the guys ready. And I think it speaks to that offensive line room in particular. And I mentioned this before just as it relates to Dawand (Jones) and some of our young guys. That’s a great room to come up in with guys like Joel (Bitonio), with guys like Wyatt (Teller), Jack Conklin, obviously veterans in there, Nick Harris. A lot of pros pros, if you will. So, they learn because that environment in that meeting room kind of demands it of you.”
You said he told you how many training camps?
“Yeah, I can’t remember what the number is, but he’s seen a lot.”
The offensive line is obviously stretching. Does (Michael) Dunn stay at guard?
“Michael’s been able to play in a bunch of positions for us. So that’s the name of the game for backup lineman is versatility.”
What has (Montez) Sweat added to that defense since he got there, what made him so good?
“Yeah, really good player. We’ve gone against him when he was in Washington. Big, long, athletic, physical, great effort. He’s pressuring the quarterback. He’s getting sacks. You notice him right away just how big he is, but he plays really hard. I got a ton of respect for him.”
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